I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read this posted underneath a photo on Instagram or Facebook. A photo of a woman, smiling, against an amazing backdrop of a cool building or beautiful scenery. She probably also mentions how she doesn’t look that good. In her caption she will blame the heat or the cold, a long hike, or the weather. Anything to explain why she doesn’t look perfect, even though she looks great. Because, somehow, in an industry where we are supposed to search for adventure, get dirty, wet, muddy, and sweaty, we are also supposed to be beautiful. And, in a way, we are punished when we are not.

Take a scroll thorough your Instagram feed and focus on the accounts of the top female travelers. How many of them post photos of themselves in a bikini? Check the likes on those photos and compare them to the numbers of likes on photos where they are more covered up. Notice a difference?